Safety-guard for cars



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

jL. PETERSON,

SAFETY GUARD FOR CARS.

No..302,024. Patented July 1 5, 1884'.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

'L. PETERSON. SAFETY GUARDVFOR'OARS.

, (No Model.)

No. 302,024. Patented Ju1y15, 1884.

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Thurman SrA'rns IATIENT -rrrcn.

LEWVIS PETERSON, OF SAN FRANGISGO, CALIFORNIA.

- SAFETY-GUARD FOR CARS.

FvPECIEICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,02, dated July 15, 1884:.

Application filed October 13, 1883. tNomodel.)

.T 0 ct whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS PETERSON, of

the city and county of San Francisco,and State of California, have invented an Improvement in Safety-Guards for Cars; and I hereby de clare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to a new and useful safety-guard for cars and other heavy moving objects.

It consists in thecornbination of devices herein described, and particularly set forth in the claim.

The principal object of my invention is to prevent such accidents to life and limb as are of frequent occurrence in cities, occasioned by persons being run over and either killed or injured by street-cars. ever, be applied to cars and moving bodies of all kinds, and it will effectually prevent any object that is in front of the car or moving body from being run over or injured to any considerable extent. v

In order to explain my invention so that others will understand its construction and operation, I have represented it and will describe its operation in connection with a streetcar. y

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 isa plan view showing a modified Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the guard rendered-vertically adjustable.

A represents the front axle, and BB the forward wheels, of astreet-car.

G is a frame,which should extend the entire length of the car, being supported on the front and'rear axles or trucks and extending to a short distance in advance of the front axle, as shown. To theforward or projecting end of this frame I connect the rollers or cylinders D,which form my fender or safety attachment, so that they will be carried in advance of the 4 front wheels. These rollers or cylinders should be made from three to six inches in diameter in order to be most effective, but they could be made larger, if desired. The surface of each roller should be roughened, corrugated,

. or cushioned. I providethem with a cush- My invention can,how-" so that their ends project and form short elastic brushes or buffers. V

Fig. 2 represents a corrugated roller in which the corrugations extend lengthwise of the roller and are made either in the roller itself or by letting in strips of elastic material.

I do not, however, confine myself to any particular manner of forming, covering, or constructing the surface of the rollers. To accomplish. this the rollers or cylinders can be variously arranged.

- In Fig.1 the cylinders or rollers are shown in an angular positionin the manner of a cowcatcher, so that any object with which they come in contact will not only be brushedforward by the forward rotation of the rollers so that it cannot get under the car, but will also be forced to one side or the other out of the way, according to which roller acts upon it. In this arrangement the" meeting ends of thetw'o rollers are supported and bear in the end of a timber, E, which projects forward from the middle of the frame 0, and they are driven by bevel-gears f from a transverse shaft, F. This shaft may be driven from the axle of thecar;

as represented, by means-of the pulleys g and moves upon the road-bed, or in or upon the slotted iron rail midway between the trackrails when the attachment is madeto cable-cars. 1

In Fig. 2 I show three short rollers or cylinders, two of which are mounted at an angle,while the third is mounted transversely between the ends of the angular rollers. These are driven by bevel gearing in themanner hereinbefore described. a

Fig. 3, Sheet 2, shows a very effective mannerof mounting the rotating-guard under the forward end of a car. employ a frame, G, loosely mounted upon a downwardly-projecting pintle, h, at each end. These pintles are secured to theiforward timber, Let the car-frame, and the frame G is confined by nuts or keys below. A spring, J, surrounds the pintles between the timber I and frame G, so that any upward pressure on the frame will compress the spring and allow. the frame to move up and down. A horizon- In this arrangement I tal frame, K, is hinged to the frame G,.so that it will project out in frontof it. This frame carries the guard-roller in front of it,and it is supported in its horizontal position by a spring, Z, and small rollers m, which are mounted in the depending legs a at each side, so as to bear and move upon the rails of the car-tracks. It will now be evident that the car body can move up and down without interfering with the frames, or the frames can move up and down without interfering with the car-body. The springl and small rollers m will cause the frame K and guard-cylinder to be carried in ahorizontal position above the track and road-bed;but in casethe roller should come in contact with any obstruction on the track it will be instantly depressed by the pressure against it down close to the surface of the road-bed, and thereby prevent the object from passing under it, while its forward rotation will, as heretofore explained, either sweep the object forward or lift it up bodily and deposit it on the frame K. The guardcylinder in this instance is represented as being driven by belts from pulleys on the caraxle, or the pulleys may be formed on the carwheels.

This safety device will be especially useful In a safety-guard for cars and other heavy v moving objects, the guard-roller D, havingits surfacev provided with a number of elastic cushions or buffers, and means for rotating said rollers in a direction opposite to the direction of revolution of the wheels, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

LEWIS PETERSON.

Vitnesses:

C. D. COLE, J. II. BLOOD. 

